Gu Qing'an and Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang

Gu Qing'an and Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang represent one of the novel’s clearest examples of family being practiced through trust rather than enforced through authority. Gu Qing'an is an attentive but notably open-minded parent, while Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang are children whose own opinions are taken seriously. Their relationship becomes narratively important when participation in a livestreamed children’s variety program forces the family to balance affection, public exposure, and personal choice.

Family Structure and Emotional Foundation

Gu Qing'an’s relationship with Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang is presented as an active caregiving bond rather than a merely formal family connection. She remains involved in their daily decisions and is attentive to their wishes, yet the available scenes emphasize that her care does not depend on controlling every choice. This distinguishes her household from family structures organized around obedience, reputation, or the unquestioned authority of elders.

The contrast is especially meaningful within the wider network of the Gu Family. At a gathering attended by many relatives, Old Madam Gu and Old Master Gu’s attitude toward Shen Tang determines how the other family members receive her. The family therefore operates through visible signals of approval and hierarchy. Gu Qing'an, by contrast, is characterized in her own household by a willingness to let the children make decisions for themselves, suggesting a more negotiable and emotionally secure form of kinship.

Trust and the Livestream Decision

When the possibility arises for Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang to participate in the children’s program, Gu Qing'an does not immediately impose her own preference. She states that she does not object to the children making their own decisions because they are old enough to choose for themselves. Her position is not careless permissiveness: she has already explained the kinds of situations that might arise, including the possibility of public commentary, and then leaves the final decision to them.

Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang accept that responsibility eagerly. After looking at each other, they nod together and say that they want to participate. Gu Anran is especially clear-eyed about the risks. She does not claim that unpleasant remarks will be impossible; instead, she observes that people can say whatever they want, and that the words remain the speakers’ responsibility. Her response gives the child an unexpectedly composed understanding of public judgment, while Gu Wuyang answers in a more competitive and theatrical register by insisting that he will become the most popular child.

Their different reactions reveal complementary personalities within the same family bond. Gu Anran approaches exposure with calm independence, whereas Gu Wuyang treats it as a challenge and an opportunity for recognition. Gu Qing'an’s parenting allows both responses to exist without forcing either child into the other’s mode of self-presentation.

Affection Expressed Through Material Care

The relationship is also expressed through concrete acts of provision. Once the children agree to join the program, Gu Anran immediately asks for a pretty dress to wear. Gu Wuyang wants one as well but does not say so openly; instead, he looks toward Gu Qing'an with expectation. Gu Qing'an understands the silent request and responds generously, telling them to buy what they want.

Her generosity extends to Shen Tang, who is also given a card for spending money. Shen Tang is surprised that she receives one too, making the gesture significant beyond its monetary value. Gu Qing'an’s care thus expands outward from her children to Shen Tang, treating her as part of the same circle of familial consideration. The cards turn the abstract promise of support into a visible household practice: trust is accompanied by resources, preparation, and the freedom to choose how those resources are used.

Significance Within the Novel

Gu Qing'an and Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang embody a version of family life built on informed consent, encouragement, and emotional openness. Their scenes counter relationships in which marriage is contractual, engagement is imposed, or family reputation dictates individual conduct. Elsewhere, Young Master Zhou claims that Shen Lan is bound to him because they are engaged, even though Shen Lan rejects the arrangement. Against that coercive model, Gu Qing'an’s household shows an adult acknowledging children as decision-makers rather than treating them as extensions of parental will.

The bond also prepares Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang to enter a public, technologically mediated space without surrendering their own agency. The program’s livestream format exposes them to viewers and commentary, but the family’s response is not to conceal them completely or dictate their behavior. Gu Qing'an explains the risks, the children accept them, and the family equips them materially for the experience. Their relationship therefore links private care with public participation: the children can step before an audience because the home behind them offers both protection and room to act independently.

In this sense, the relationship’s decisive feature is not simply that Gu Qing'an loves Gu Anran and Gu Wuyang. It is that her love takes the form of confidence in their judgment. Gu Anran’s composure and Gu Wuyang’s ambition are allowed to emerge as their own, while Gu Qing'an remains present as a supportive parent who informs, provides, and trusts rather than commands.